And the celebration continues. Today (March 8), Mary J. Blige kicked off International Women’s Day by announcing on social media that she will honor hip hop turning 50 at her second annual Strength of A Woman Fest in partnership with Pepsi and Live Nation. The two-night, four-day summit and festival will take place on May 12 and 13 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. According to the “Just Fine” songstress, the fest will be an experience filled with music, panels, comedy, a gospel brunch, a ball, parties, and many more surprises. Joining Blige for day one of the hip hop celebration are Jeezy, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Jadakiss, and DJ Drama and Friends, with special guest Jodeci.
On day two of the festival, Grammy Award-winning singer Lauryn Hill will perform courtesy of MLF Fund’s Black Women’s Empowerment Initiatives. Other guests include Muni Long, Coco Jones, Summer Walker, Lucky Daye, and Saucy Santana. “Last year was great, [but] this year will be epic!” Blige captioned her Instagram post.
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In May 2022, Blige and Pepsi announced that the inaugural Strength of Woman Fest would take place in Atlanta to create a space for Black women to celebrate. “The idea for the festival came to us after early listening sessions of my latest album with my family and friends and women in the industry,” said Blige in a press release.
“Each time, the people in the room would share a story, oftentimes of heartbreak or pain, but they always ended with joy and love and how their girlfriends or mom or sister helped them find their voice and strength. We felt like after two years of being inside and having to endure so much, that this was the type of experience that people, especially women, deserved,” she added.
The arena show presale tickets are now available here.